N5RMJ

N5RMJ in Bethel, Alaska November 21, 2009

My wife and I moved from Maryland to Bethel, Alaska in July 2005 because I wanted a lifestyle change. Living in the bush has been something I have wanted to do since I was in elementary school. In January 2007 we were given our first daughter, who we named Natalie Maureen. Six years later, in April 2013, we were given our second daughter, who we named Gloria Mae. They are both Yupik Eskimo. We live in the heart of Yupik Eskimo lands and we enjoy the subsistance lifestyle. We love fishing and camping and we enjoy spending time on the Kuskokwim River.

As you may guess from the domain name, I have dabbled in the amateur radio hobby. I am a Navy veteran, having served on board the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the late 1970s. That service to our country allowed me to become a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. During 2004 I served as Vice Flotilla Commander for the Capitol Flotilla of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, a civilian volunteer arm of the United States Coast Guard. I am also a former Red Crosser; I worked at the Red Cross as a network engineer at the national data center. By joining the Red Cross, I followed in the tradition of one of my maternal great great grandmothers, an immigrant from Varel, Germany, who volunteered as one of the ‘Gray Ladies‘ during the First World War.

My best friend and beautiful wife, Patty, is from Guatemala, an intensely beautiful country full of warm, friendly people. We have a house in Zona 11 in Guatemala City but we are looking forward to moving to Guatemala’s oldest city, Antigua, in a few years.